St John’s University-New York Top Questions

Assuming that I could travel back in time to my senior year of high school, I would definitely tell myself to buckle down on looking for scholarships and get into whatever community service I could at the time. I was always told by my teachers that college was expensive and I need to start preparing as soon as possible. Me being a senior, did not take heed to what they were telling me and today, as I sit here a fill out multiple scholarships a day, I often think back saying "if only I listened back then I wouldnt have to kill myself looking for scholarships today." Lesson learned!!!

A Young Man worried about his place in the world and his future. Constantly caught in the flack of high school life. He wanted to be accepted but also wanted to be an individual. He wanted to be cool but also wanted to be successful. Little did he know that being successful is about more than just yourself and that the world did not revolve around people who were considered cool. If I went back in time during my high school days I would tell myself the exact words that my father has spoken to me all my life. However I refused to take it fully to heart. Life is not about fitting in. It’s about exceeding the norm, and it’s about elevating the bar. College is you taking that next step in being a pawn in the process of bringing about positive change in society. If you focus in on others and what they do you will become just another statistic. However if you put your efforts on looking outside of the box, those who you tried to follow, whose focus was based on fitting in will later follow you.

Honestly, I was a typical stubborn teenager. If I were to go back and talk to my high school self, I probably would not have listened to my older self. I had elder, wiser people in my life trying to advise me, but I refused to listen. Of course, I thought I had it all under control. Making mistakes and going through changes is all a part of life. If it were not for those few struggles, I would not have grown as a person. There is this quote I like to go by that says, "a calm sea doesn't make a skilled sailor" and nothing could be truer.

Plan your money wisely. Don't buy on impulse because half the things you think you need you don't. Also, watch who you put your trust in. There are a lot of fake people in this world. Don't go across the country or even across the city thinking naively that you can trust every new face you come across. And lastly, to have fun, study hard, and make lasting memories because you really do live only once.

BE PREPARED! You're going to make quite a few HUGE mistakes next year. Don't worry, everybody messes up. Your mother will lose faith in you and you'll spend your entire second semester and summer making up for first semester. But don't get discouraged. Through these mistakes you'll learn the true value of an education and the importance of family. You'll discover that you care a lot more about things you think are trivial right now. In the end, you'll learn never to blame luck on shortcomings and to pick yourself back up faster than ever before. You will prove to not only everyone else, but to yourself that you can succeed in college and take on a big load of responsibility. I'm not going to tell you not to do anything you want to do, but be smart and learn from it all. You'll make great friends, and grow apart from some but you have a great foundation. Don't get discouraged and keep pushing. You're following your dreams, don't lose sight of what you set out to do in the first place. Stay stong!

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior and say one thing, I would say get ready for a wild ride ahead of you. You will serve honorably and proudly in the US Air Force. You will survive cancer at the age of 21. Stop an armed robber in Tampa Bay. See the World Trade Center’s fall by cowards and thieves. You will deploy to Afghanistan, Iraq, and visit 13 different countries. You will see 43 of the fifty states of our beautiful nation. You will marry the woman of your dreams and have two beautiful children. You will own your own business and they will fail. The failure will drive you to make a better life you and your family’s future. So, I say to myself, persevere, carry on and never quit. When it is time for college take the road less traveled. The piece of paper will not guarantee any success, fortune or fame. The world will still never own you anything after you receive it. It will show you have the guts to win in the end and never quit. I would tell myself, "Persevere."

Don’t be afraid to immerse yourself in college life even if you have to do things alone. If you spend your time waiting for your friends you might not get involved and you won’t meet anyone new. Try everything that you haven’t done before college is a place to discover yourself and grow as a person and you won’t learn anything new about yourself, if you don’t try anything new. Do all your work on time and never procrastinate, if you make a set schedule you can finish your work on time and won’t have to pull coffee filled all nighters. It’s not going to be easy you are going to have days when you cry and you going to want to give up. When you feel like this don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call mom. She won’t think you are not an adult if you call her for help because deep down your still her little girl and she will always be there for you. Most importantly have fun.

dont blow your money on food save it for something good, and dont try to get away with breaking the rules you'll always get caught

Dear Tyler from senior year, There are three things that I want you to know going into college and that is to pack light, have good time managment, and ventrue out your comfort zone. When you're packing to leave college days prior to moving day because you're so excited to start this new chapter in your life do not pack everything you own. This is your new living space, but there is no place like home... to leave your stuff. When it comes to how hard college is, honestly it is all on how well you manage your time. When you get an assignment plan when you are going to complete it because if you keep pushing to do it later it becomes harder to finish with the little time you have to complete it. Lastly, college is new to everyone. Challenge yourself to be more outspoken and do things you were too afraid to do in college. There are hundreds of new people to meet everyday and you surely will not meet them sitting in your dorm room. From, Already experienced college Tyler

If I could go back in time to the high school years, I would tell myself to start reading up on my major earlier and learn how to be self discplined. I would tell "high school Leonna" to study harder for AP tests and manage her work load properly.